In the manufacture and assembly of mass-produced products, for example deodorant canisters made up of several different type parts, each part type is fed in quantity from a part source into a parts feeder. Examples of part sources include injection molding, stamping, forging, casting, or any mass-production process. The parts are conveyed to a collection area and fed onto a track in a spaced apart sequence, and in a predetermined position, i.e., all parts upright and facing the same direction in preparation for automated assembly. Any means of parts feeding can be employed, for example, a rotating bowl feeder; a rotary vibrating feeder; a linear vibrating feeder; a belt feeder; or the like.
The parts sometimes enter the track inverted or sideways, causing a jam-up of multiple parts. In this event, the process must be temporarily halted, the jammed parts removed and re-introduced to the bowl feeder, and the process resumed. Heretofore, these steps were carried out manually, requiring an operator keeping constant vigil.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an apparatus capable of sensing a jam, stopping the process, removing the jam, and restarting the process, all carried out automatically, thereby avoiding the problems associated with the prior art.